Former Bobcats quarterback shares experiences as a player, reporter

What's it like to play football for Chuck Lenahan? Fortunately, I know, having grown up in Plymouth. As kids, we'd attend every game on Saturday afternoons and watch from the hill at Zoulias Field as the Bobcats destroyed opponents. We always knew it would be an honor to play for the Bobcats.

Looking back, the experience meant so much more than winning a championship. We were signing up for lifelong lessons on the value of hard work and preparation. We were convinced that nobody practiced harder. Nobody watched more film on Mondays. We learned there are no shortcuts in life.

Games were won during practices and Saturday afternoons were an exercise of power and precision. As freshmen, we watched the older guys win the 1985 championship against Monadnock of Swanzey. As juniors, we defeated Kennett of Conway for the title, 15-6. It didn't matter if the other teams knew our playbook because they still never stopped the fullback traps or flood passes. As a senior, when after my brother, Keith, graduated and it was my turn to play quarterback, we kept on winning.

Lenahan's 43-year career ends on Saturday as the Bobcats (10-1) host Portsmouth (10-1) in the Division II final at 1 p.m.

We all miss it. We miss the way everyone mastered their job within the program. We trusted each other. There is a rhythm and timing to every offensive play, and it's a beautiful thing to watch.

I was a skinny 6-foot-3, 165-pounder and those snarling linebackers from Kennett were a bit intimidating. They screamed in my face and yelled "flood pass" at the line of scrimmage.

"Just run it," Lenahan would tell us.

In September, Plymouth defeated Kennett of Conway, 3-0, on Jeff Beckley's field goal. We ended up losing the 1988 championship game to Kennett, 12-10, in a classic thriller. My good friend, Beckley, who went on to play at Boston College, missed a 42-yarder in the final seconds. People may forget that I threw a crucial pick-six interception in the third quarter. Jeff Perry, who became a tight end at Penn State, intercepted the pass at the sideline and trucked about 40 yards for a touchdown return.

Luckily, it wasn't my final game in the Land of Lenahan, a nickname coined by the coach's favorite reporter, John Habib of the New Hampshire Union Leader. As a journalist for the past 20 years, I have covered many of Lenahan's 355 victories and 19 championships.

In September 1987, in a New Hampshire edition of the Boston Globe, Lenahan provided his quote of the year: "We're small, but we're slow." At the time, we didn't realize it was the coach's way of keeping everyone humble and hungry. The belittling quotes also served another purpose. While other team's served up bulletin board material for the locker room, Lenahan gave nothing.

He loved it when other coaches were quoted in the newspaper. And nothing was greater than Habib picking against the Bobcats in his New Hampshire Union Leader Friday picks. It happened more than you might think. There were championship games in which Kennett, Souhegan or Laconia were favored to win, based on previous head-to-head games or the latest injuries.

Lenahan's office was plastered with team pictures. There were also two hand-written signs in black Sharpie. "Success belongs to those who prepare for it" and "Doubt whom you will, but never doubt yourself." We were definitely prepared and confident. As a former player speaking on behalf of thousands of Bobcats, we thank you for the past 43 years. Pride and Tradition.